Syncthing-Fork vs elFinder
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Syncthing-Fork
Android client wrapper for continuous Syncthing file synchronization
VS
elFinder
Web file manager with a desktop-style interface
| Feature | Syncthing-Fork | elFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Java | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,534 | ★ 4,800 |
| First released | 2017 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, Google Drive | Google Drive, Dropbox |
Why pick each one
Choose elFinder if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Syncthing-Fork or elFinder better?
Neither is universally better. elFinder has the larger community, while Syncthing-Fork is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Syncthing-Fork and elFinder free and open-source?
Yes. Syncthing-Fork is licensed under MPL-2.0 and elFinder under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Syncthing-Fork and elFinder with Docker?
Syncthing-Fork: check the project docs for container support. elFinder: check the project docs for container support.